1. Field of the Invention
The present invention concerns improvements in and relating to collapsible wheelbarrows, being wheelbarrows that are configured to be collapsible to a flattened or flat pack state. It is primarily, but not exclusively, for use in gardening.
2. Background
Collapsible wheelbarrows have a long history, dating back over a century or more. For example in 1898 a collapsible wheelbarrow was patented as GB 20,492 and having a barrow or bucket comprising an assembly of rigid panels that are hinged to fold together to lie alongside each other when collapsed and to unfold to form the erected operative wheelbarrow. In more recent collapsible wheelbarrow designs, such as in GB 2,421,481 and GB 2,366,256 the barrow or bucket is made of canvas or other flexible material slung on a wheeled articulated skeletal frame that is adapted to fold at one or more joints so that canvas can fold and the frame elements can stack/nest alongside each other when collapsed. In all cases the frame is configured to transition between the erected operative state and a collapsed flat, compact state where the walls and floor of the bucket/barrow are folded together for storage, thereby occupying minimal storage and floor space. The existing collapsible wheelbarrow designs are all designed to meet the requirement for occupying minimal floor space when collapsed and do so well but are all essentially uni-functional, performing as wheelbarrows when erected but being inoperative in the flattened state.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a wheelbarrow that has additional enhanced functionality in the collapsed state so that it can be used to facilitate handling of materials by the wheelbarrow. A further object is to provide a wheelbarrow that can assist gardeners with gathering and transporting garden waste. Whereas the likes of WO 2012167317 have previously proposed novelty dual functional collapsible wheelbarrows to convert from being a wheelbarrow to a deckchair these do not assist in the basic function of the wheelbarrow and both functions relate to the erected state of the barrow not the collapsed state of the barrow.